Histories of Brackish Moor: July 2001 - June 2004
As told in the words of Odetta Swiftblade (Devra Monk) ---- Coming from across the seas, a man called Prophet found a land of swamp and muck. In this land, he also found honor and the eye of storm, the one spot of calm amongst the chaos; he found Brackish Moor. Wandering in the lands one fine day he happened upon two people, an assassin and a warrior; Dame Odetta Swiftblade and Sir Perrin Aybara. Unlikely pair though they were, they were both belted for their abilities to form order from disorder. Prophet at this point in his life became Malikai Ravenfeather, reverting to his Granola Tree hugging roots to follow the path of the scout. Following the Knights to their home in the muck, Malikai was introduced to the rest of Brackish Moor. Here he found an archer, Rhiannon Fitzwilliam, elder matron of Brackish Moor, an indescrept wizard, Ertai, a smelly barbarian called Thyne al'Caan, and two more warriors, Bane Damon and Rand al'Thor. The populace met and decided that the honor of leading this wee kingdom would go to Malikai as a way to test his merit. Time passed and information was brought before the small court that in the outlying areas there was a man, or perhaps he was not a man, attempting to spread the word of his God among the creatures of the Moor. Well, his methods left much to be desired; the very direct approach of 'convert or die' didn't set well with the inhabitants of the area, so Brackish Moor took up the banner of war and went forth to restore peace to their realm. Along the way, the Moor picked up two new members, Hailstone the Warrior and Rahvin of the forest, and they introduced a friend, Taredan to the ranks of Brackish Moor and all were eager to help bring down the evil crusader. Emissaries were deployed, and traps were laid. After much battle, the Crusader, whose name to this day remains unknown, was destroyed, and the uneasy peace was restored. It turned out that Hailstone and Rahvin were brothers seperated at birth, as they both carried the ring of their family. That, however is a story for another day... After a time, the Kingdom gathered on the field of Brackish Moor to tourney and feast as one, and the crown of Malikai was stolen. Dame Odetta located, apprehended and 'persuaded' a messenger to give the kingdom information. The messenger alerted the kingdom to the fact that the crown had been stolen by an evil barbarian and his tribes to the north; King Malikai called for his fighters to seek out and destroy this usurper to the throne. He dispatched an army consisting of Odetta, Perrin, Bane, Thyne, Rand, and Taredan, and Derrin to investigate this threat. Two weeks passed and there was no word. Malikai sent forth a scout troup who discovered that the first wave was all being held captive and they were all held in thrall by the magician of the Barbarian. Malikai called for volunteers to investigate this menace. Rhiannon, Rahvin, Hailstone and the visiting Albert took up this challenge. After much battle and long travels, the crown was restored to Brackish Moor, and Thyne was crowned King. See 'The battle for the crown' for more on this battle. Time moved on, as it is wont to do, and the barbarian ascended to the throne of Brackish Moor. Word was received from afar; apparantly there was battle afoot across the ocean in the lands of Barad Duin, from whence Malikai had once come to Brackish Moor. A cry for help was made, and though the journey was long, five fighters of Brackish Moor boarded the ship and answered the call of the Combined Realms. Dame Odetta, Sir Perrin, Lord Malikai, Derrin Dermel, and His Majesty Thyne al'Caan made this long ardous journey to the lands of HFS, and fought as best they could despite their small numbers. Malikai decided to stay to aid Barad Duin and the other battle worn warriors started home on a journey that was frought with danger, becoming shipwrecked on the shores of Lake. After repairs were made to the ship, they returned home. Like normal, the peace was not to last. The kigndom was plagued with attacks. First a band of assassins came into the kingdom to attempt obliteration of the entire kingdom, though they were stopped with ease. One thing happened to cause celebration among the kingdom; Malikai came on a visit to the kingdom, and the belted circle granted him a belt for his services to the kingdom. Then one day, disturbing word was brought. His Majesty Thyne had been taken captive by his barbarian clans, and was being held in the keep of Brackish Moor. Hailstone rallied the troups and went forth to save the king. Using strike and run tactics, the fighters of the kingdom were able to run the barbarians back to the woods, and the king was found. Unfortunately he had suffered greatly in captivity, so he asked that Hailstone take the crown and wear it as reward for his great defense of the kingdom. Hailstone accepted this boon, and reigned peacefully for a time. At one point during his reign, one of the assassins approached the kingdom and asked to become one of the populace. His name was Ragnar Lokson, and he quickly fell in with Derrin Dermel. Following the apparant pattern of the disrupted realm, Hailstone went missing and again a rescue effort was put forth. Rhiannon led the fight this time, and through her diplomacy and guidance of her fighters, she brought a peace to the realm, and the populace cried for her to take up the crown. Rhiannon's reign was the most peaceful yet. The fighters had little need to war with either each other, or the realm at large, and peace was enjoyed for quite a while. Some new people joined the ranks of the kingdom; Scarr Richtor, Terrant Ralos, and Kaljar Markley entered the kingdom, a barbarian, a druid, and a wizard. Shortly thereafter Derrin and Ragnar decided to become a seperate entitiy within the kingdom, becoming Mark of the Beast, fifty men strong, led by Derrin and Ragnar jointly. Andreas Van Guinessberg also joined the ranks of the Moor. Peace continued to reign. Her last order as queen was the knighting of Roe Ulton, a warrior bearing a strong resemblance to Bane Damon. Then Sir Roe, Dame Odetta, Thyne, and some others, departed to embark on a discovery mission. During feast the next evening, a messenger came falling from the dark into the feasthall bleeding from many wounds and in a strained voice told the court that Queen Rhiannon had been killed, and then died himself. "Who would do such a thing?!" demanded Sir Perrin. Suddenly from the corner of the room where Mark of the Beast had been gathered, there came a movement. All eyes turned in that direction in time to see Derrin Dermel's eyes begin to grow red, and his head to grow spikes, and his body to change, becoming that of a large demon. "I dare!!! Kill them all!!!" and to the horror of all, Mark of the Beast turned the throne room into the final resting place for Sir Perrin, Bane Damon, Rand al'Thor, Vixen McClune, and others. Derrin Dermel was no more. In his place stood Xethnorak Shadowbane, demon of the underworld, and controller of Derrin's body, voice, and will. The next day, with the kingdom in tatters, Mark of the Beast began its reign of tyranny, heading into the surrounding areas of Brackish Moor to recruit evil beings to its cause, and to destroy any shreds of peace it could find. That evening, Xethnorak took up the crown of Brackish Moor from the dead brow of Rhiannon, and placed it upon his head, declaring himself King of all. He appointed Andreas Von Guinessberg as his regent, and Terrant as his Chancellor. The position of Champion was granted to Sir Korvak Drakmir (a man bearing strong similarities with the now deceased Perrin) and Sir Roe was created Guildmaster of Reeves. With Mark of the Beast standing witness, no one present dared disagree with the decisions of the demon king. There grew up among the remaining popluace of Brackish Moor a resistance to the rule of Xethnorak. This resistance was formed and led by Captain Devon Cortez and Thyne al'Caan. Many messages were sent to Maliaki, who had once again taken up the name Prophet. These messages spoke of an attemp to usurp the throne, and spoke of a barbarian invasion led by Thyne. The barbarians made an attempt on the kingdom, but the king seemed prepared. Apparantly the messages had been intercepted by Dame Odetta, and presented to the crown as evidence of treason. Dame Odetta was heard to say, "To be sneaky is to be great, to not be sneaky is to get caught." After the thwarted invasion, Xethnorak stripped Thyne al'Caan of his title viscount and took his lands, and he also confiscated Captain Devon's ship and stripped him of the title Captain. They were to be known from that day forth as Thyne the Deceitful and Devon the Treacherous. During this same court, Sir Roe joined the Clan of Mark of the Beast, and Dame Odetta and Sir Korvak swore their fealty to the crown of Brackish Moor. As Knights of the realm, they acknowledged their duty to serve the crown, and swore so before the populace. Soon thereafter, Thyne and Devon sought aid in their quest to remove the demon king from the throne. They found aid in Rahvin and Hailstone. Many people departed the kingdom for various reasons. Sir's Roe and Korvak left in search of usurpers to the throne and encountered the resistance, as well as a pack of Mindflayers. They pled with the resistance to lay down their arms and accept the rule of Xethnorak as the true king, yet the resistance refused. The resistance themselves searched the kingdom for more resistance fighters, to no avail. There were many evil creatures abounding in the realm, and they found it hard to get through to find people to aid them. A party of neutrals out to bring a peace and understanding departed in hopes of resolving the kingdom under one banner. This party consisted of High Lady Sybell, Jasmine, Ertai, and Prince Andreas. The Prince was greatly worried by the turmoil within the kingdom, and just wanted everyone to lay down their arms and enjoy the uneasy peace presented by Mark of the Beast. This was not to be. At the end of their long journey, the resistance returned to Brackish Moor to see some odd happenings. The wizard Kaljar was gesticulating over a pile of dragon bones while the Mark looked on. Seeing this as opportunity to attack, the resistance did just that. Off to the side, they saw Xethnorak experiencing some sort of convulsions, and they heard him yell, "Release me!!" However, apparantly Kaljar heard 'release it' and released his creation upon the resistance... it was a dragonlich. The dragonlich began to attack the resistance, and then a strange thing happened, Xethnorak called to the Mark to aid the resistance fighters, and they all rallied to destroy the dragonlich. The dragon flew overhead, releasing spell after spell, but the united fighters proved too much for it, and with one final attack from Ragnar, the dragon fell to the ground, dead once more. Then Xethnorak fled into the woods. There was much confusion on the fields. Why had Xethnorak fled? Why had he aided them? At court and feast that evening, much was made clear. It turns out that Derrin Dermel had once been attacked by a demon named Xethnorak, and apparantly, Xethnorak had made his home within Derrin, much to Derrin's suprise. Xethnorak had spent much time hiding within Derrin until he felt the time was right, and then he had made his move. Derrin had not been in control of what was being carried out by his own body. When Derrin saw through Xethnorak's eyes that his comrades, his populace, were about to be destroyed, he had fought a battle of the wills like no other, and had fought Xethnorak back into his place within Derrin, leaving him in control of his body once more, and he was able to send his clan in to aid in the destruction of the Dragonlich controlled by Kaljar. There was not to be complete peace yet. During feast, while the jester (Ragnar) was performing, out of the shadows came Kaljar wielding a dagger to kill him, screaming, "You killed it!! You killed my dragon" and laughing madly, but luckily Sir Korvak and Sir Roe were able to apprehend him in time. Not suprisingly, Kaljar had gone mad when his creation was destroyed, and he was banished from the kingdom by the newly returned King Derrin. He was told to never return. The problem with crazy people however is that they don't listen very well, and Dame Odetta discovered Kaljar creeping in the fringes of the woods, and brought him before the King again. Derrin decided that there had been enough bloodshed while Xethnorak had been running things, so rather than execute Kaljar, he dubbed him Grendel the Mad, and warned the populace to be wary of him. Grendel made wild claims to have been the one who brought forth Xethnorak and threatened that he would do it again if he had the chance. King Derrin restored Thyne and Devon's titles and property, granting Captain Devon a larger, faster ship, and apologized for any grievances done against them while under the rule of Xethnorak. Shortly thereafter, Derrin stepped down from the throne, offering it to his heir, Prince Andreas, due to Andreas' great work in attempting to unite the kingdom during the time of crisis. Around this same time, there was an invasion of monsters into all the Kingdoms of the combined realms, and again the call for aid was made and Brackish Moor answered. Fielding 8 fighters of the kingdom, Brackish Moor lent great aid in the battle against the monsters, but then for some reason, assassins attempted to eliminate all of the ruling heads of the kingdoms, and no one would sit still for that. Brackish Moor fought valiantly, forging an alliance to aid them as they fought to protect their king and kingdom from destruction. The kingdom fought well, and honorably, though the battlefield was confused to the point where no one was sure who was victorious! At this same meeting, there was a tournament held of the champions of all the kingdoms, and Sir Korvak represented extremely well, going undefeated until the very last two battles. He lost the first, but due to the double elimination style of the tourney there was one more bout to be had. It was fought and after many fights and re-fights, victory was declared for Korvak’s opponent. For his honor, the combined realms acknowledged Sir Korvak with a Silver Griffin, and for his prowess in the tournament, he was gifted with a Silver Dragon, both awards bearing much weight. The Kingdom of Brackish Moor shone proud that day, with two awards, and a great performance in the Kingdom war. This brings us to today, we are planning for the next succession of monarchs and regents. There will be a new champion, and chancellor. There is a new age on the horizon, and Brackish Moor will be there to greet it.